Case Study

Literature

Manchester 'Vertical Village' plans submitted

15th March 2017

A planning application has been submitted for a 'Vertical Village' in the St John's area of central Manchester by developer Allied London.

The scheme is the latest aspect of the project to transform an area close to the River Irwell, with the latest scheme involving the construction of five towers containing 1,400 apartments. The tallest of these will be 67 storeys in height, making it the tallest in Manchester. There will also be two towers of 26 storeys in height and buildings with 37 and 41 floors.

Most notably, the loftiest of the skyscrapers will be even higher than the 201 m (659 ft) Owen Street Tower One, which is itself part of a cluster of four skyscrapers now under construction that will also deliver 1,400 apartments.

The tallest Owen Street tower will overtake the Beetham Tower as the highest in Manchester, but it seems this 64-storey building will only hold the record briefly, provided the city council gives the green light to the construction of the Vertical Village. According to planning application documents, the tallest tower will be 237 m (778 ft) high, making it slightly taller than One Canada Square at Canary Wharf in London.

Projects director at Allied London James Sidlow said: "Trinity Islands will appeal to a wide variety of people with its excellent onsite amenity and community-lead retail offering, as well as its sky gardens and lounges that allow residents to relax and unwind. One of the tallest residential schemes in western Europe, residents will enjoy some of Manchester’s most scenic views."

Allied London has already gained planning permission for two 36-storey private residential scheme apartment towers in the St John's area. Other plans include a new arts centre and theatre on the site of the former Granada Studios. Across the city, Allied London is also developing plans for the re-use of the former London Road Fire Station, which has stood idle opposite Piccadilly Station since the 1980s after Britannia Hotels bought the building but never redeveloped it.

The latest application continues Manchester's recent twin trends of constructing thousands of new apartments in the city centre and building increasingly tall towers.